1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a door apparatus for an aperture formed in a portable computer's surface, and more specifically relates to a door apparatus for a PCMCIA aperture formed in a portable computer's surface.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of and advantages associated with portable computers are well known in the art. Over the last decade, there has been an intense effort in the computer industry to down size the personal computer ("PC") to provide users with a powerful yet portable computer that can be taken out of the office and fully utilized at home or on the road. As advancements have been made in both microprocessing chips and battery technologies, particularly over the last decade, PCs were eventually downsized into "laptop computers". While these computers offered the portability and processing power of a full sized PC, the laptop was still somewhat large and heavy for the user to carry around. In response to these disadvantages, the laptops were downsized even further into what is now known in the industry as a notebook computer, which is smaller and more light weight yet possessing equal or greater processing capabilities than their earlier laptop counterpart.
In order to achieve a useful portable computer in the size of the notebook computers presently known in the art, many design processing and space saving changes occurred both in the electronics portion of the computer and in the exterior design. However, while the size of these portable computers has decreased, the expectations of the user with respect to the processing capacity and interfacing capabilities have expanded. Thus, to accommodate this expanding need for a "super" portable computer, portable computer memory card international association ("PCMCIA") cards were developed. These PCMCIA cards allow the user to temporarily expand the processing or interfacing capabilities of a portable computer with the insertion of a single card into the computer and interfacing it with the motherboard in the computer. Several different types of PCMCIA cards, which allow the user to increase the RAM processing memory of the portable computer or interface it with everything from a Local Area Networks ("LAN") system to a modem, are now commercially available and extensively used.
To accommodate the use of these cards, portable computer manufactures designed internal PCMCIA ports or apertures in the portable computer. However, due to the restricted space requirements, many such designs do not provide for a covering member over the aperture. This, of course, allows debris to enter the system and increase the probability of damage to the internal components of the computer. To overcome these problems, some manufactures, however, provide a single, hinged external door member that opens outwardly from the portable computer housing and covers the aperture when in a closed position. While these external doors do prevent debris from entering the portable computer when in the closed position, they are very susceptible to breakage when in the open position because they extend outwardly from the computer housing. In addition, they interfere with the insertion of the PCMCIA card into the PCMCIA port or aperture.
A type of door apparatus that is associated with the floppy disk drive and that swings into the computer housing is well known. This door apparatus typically consists of a single door member that is supported from the floppy disk drive frame member. In such instances, the frame is designed to accommodate a clearance path for the width of the floppy disk drive door. While these mechanisms work well for the floppy disk drive, they are not desirable for a PCMCIA card application because of the amount of additional space required for the frame member to which the door would be mounted. Moreover, in many instances, more than one PCMCIA card may be used at any given time. Thus, the conventional floppy disk door member would have to be wider, which would, of course, undesirably consume more precious space within the portable computer.
Therefore, it can readily be seen that there is a need in the art for a door apparatus that effectively covers a PCMCIA aperture, that is not susceptible to breakage and that does not require additional space within the portable computer. The present invention provides a door apparatus that addresses these deficiencies.